Paris, May 13 (AZERTAC). The French press has widely covered an official visit of President François Hollande to Azerbaijan this week.

“Le Figaro”, “Le Monde”, “Liberation”, “Les Echos”, “Le Parisien”, “Le Point” newspapers, France-3, TV5Monde, BFMTV TV channels, as well as several news agencies and web portals praise the President’s visit as important in terms of strengthening and expanding bilateral ties between France and Azerbaijan.

The articles point to “20-year long history of cooperation and friendly ties in economic and cultural fields between France and Azerbaijan”, and note that more than 50 French companies had been operating in Azerbaijan.

The French press also hails Azerbaijan as the South Caucasus leader with its “strong geopolitical position”.

The articles hail the Azerbaijan-France Business Forum held at the Heydar Aliyev Center, saying “it opens new prospects for expanding cooperation between the two countries in economic field”.

The articles underline the importance of the signing of bilateral documents between France and Azerbaijan in the areas of education, agriculture and subway construction, describing it as “a new stage” in the bilateral ties.

The articles also praise the construction of a French Lyceum in Baku.

The French press also touches on the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, and quote the French President as saying that the county would increase efforts to settle the dispute by peaceful means.